


The Kingdom

by CreamMoon



Series: Bottom Arthur Fest 2018 [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Jumanji Fusion, Bottom Arthur, Bottom Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-13
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-05-21 18:26:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14920595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreamMoon/pseuds/CreamMoon
Summary: "...The Kingdom?" Merlin read, cocking his head at the script that curled across the box's bisected lid. It was kept closed by a latch at it's center and seemed no worse for wear for having been flung from a moving vehicle as Arthur picked it up and took a closer look. It was a hefty thing, clearly made with a great deal of care and money if he knew anything about nice things. His house was full of nice things that his Father and Mother had bought."I think it's a game." Arthur postulated as he started back to his bike, picking the thing up and stuffing the box into the wire basket. "Let's go back to my house and try it out!"





	The Kingdom

**Author's Note:**

> For Bottom Arthur Fest 2k18!
> 
> Unbeta'd per my usual horrible tendencies, I just needed to get this out there before I went mad!! Like "The Kingdom", this fic kept me hostage!! It simply didn't want to end! I promise I'll polish it more if there are lingering mistakes, but I desperately need some sleep!

Summer vacation was close at hand and the sunset far off as Arthur goaded Merlin into biking with him over to the old quarry. He wanted to see if he could catch some little frogs to take home and terrorize Morgana with and needed someone to hold the box while he collected them. Of course Merlin was a natural choice, he was always good for standing by and holding things.

"I'm not your servant, you know that right?" Merlin asked, somehow holding the box still despite his complaints as Arthur combed the grass for frogs.

"If you say so, Merlin." Arthur said, finding a frog finally and cupping his hands around it gently, scrambling up and hurrying to put it into the box with the two others they'd found.

Huffing loudly the taller boy closed the lid and glared at him through his coke bottle lenses, holding the box close to his chest. "Don't you think that's enough? If you're going to put them in her bed you only need a few!"

Arthur frowned, absolutely not pouting at the other boy, before finally giving in to that annoyed look, throwing his hands up in disgust. "Fine, FINE! If you're going to be a total girl about it Merlin then we're done!"

"You're the one throwing a hissy fit." Merlin shot back, already striding forward with his gangly legs to head back toward their bikes and inevitably the road. Arthur just glared at the back of his head, making faces till Merlin turned and nearly caught him at it.

As they walked their bikes back toward town a car came blazing along the country road behind them, something making a loud thud as it hit the grass nearby. Both looked perplexedly between the thing and the car as it sped along. What sort of maniac threw things out of a car?

Whatever it was it was going home with them, the pair peering down at the heavy wooden box with furrowed brows. How could they pass up a mysterious treasure that was actually _thrown_ from a car?

"...The Kingdom?" Merlin read, cocking his head at the script that curled across the box's bisected lid. It was kept closed by a latch at it's center and seemed no worse for wear for having been flung from a moving vehicle as Arthur picked it up and took a closer look. It was a hefty thing, clearly made with a great deal of care and money if he knew anything about nice things. His house was full of nice things that his Father and Mother had bought.

"I think it's a game." Arthur postulated as he started back to his bike, picking the thing up and stuffing the box into the wire basket. "Let's go back to my house and try it out!"

"Do you still want the frogs?" Merlin asked, looking at the awkward arrangement dubiously before partially mounting his bike. Arthur just gave him a dry look and the older boy sighed, shaking his head at the expression. "Of _course_ you still want the frogs... why did I think any different?"

***

Arthur didn’t get much of a chance to scream when he was sucked into the center of the game board, his inaugural roll an unfortunate one that dealt such a penalty. The instructions stated that the other players would have to keep playing till the right numbers were rolled... but Merlin, scared out of his mind, was chased out of the house by shrieking hawks of enormous size, and was not exactly in any state to pursue such a thing.

For months the Pendragons scoured the town and the surrounding counties for their lost son, none the wiser that the strange board game had locked him away, the rantings of the mousy boy down the way clearly too absurd to take at face value.

Days became months, which became years as they inevitably do. Rumors grew and twisted around the house and the devastated couple. The Father died early, little evident about what caused him to pass. The Mother died a few years later, struck by a car as she was crossing a street on a rainy day.

The house sat, untouched, all it's contents waiting quietly.

The rumors continued to roll long after the couple's untimely deaths, twisting into dark and terrible things. It kept the home from being purchased for twenty long years, a fearless buyer finally purchasing it outright on the anniversary of Arthur's disappearance.

Morgana Pendragon had returned home.

Bitterness filled her as she thrust the doors to the front open, the fleeting memory of when she’d last left it coming as stale air greeted her. Uther had sent for her Mother to take her away, the man an inconsolable wreck and his wife not much better.

The pain of having your parent turn you away in such a manner lingered on, coloring all of Morgana’s relationships, her own marriage deteriorating when her fear of abandonment became too strong. All she had left was her son, her work, and her sizeable inheritance, the latter poured into the purchase of her childhood home.

She’d make a new start in this old place. Maybe then she’d find some peace.

***

A shrill scream pierced the air that was unmistakeable, Morgana rushing from her room and down the hall toward Mordred’s room, baseball bat at the ready as she rounded the corner.

She was nearly blindsided by a man barreling at her, Morgana swinging the bat only to be met by something metal, the clang that resounded throughout the house near deafening. When she hauled back to strike at him again he caught her wrist in a tight grip, leaning into her space and squinting at her.

His eyes were...

“Vivienne?”

His voice was rough as it put forth her Mother’s name questioningly, hesitantly, as though afraid of the answer.

Some sort of mad man dressed as a knight was standing in her home, asking about her Mother... And all she could think about was the color of his eyes.

“Wrong LeFay.” She found herself saying, and a strange understanding dawned that made the man drop her arm and whatever he’d been carrying.

Tears welled in his eyes and she was suddenly seized in a rough embrace, his chainmail biting into her. “Ana!!”

At the sound of that name she found herself shaking, pushing out of the embrace in disbelief as she tried to get a good look at this stranger. His disheveled appearance made him look like some ancient king that walked out of a tapestry... But... Only one person had ever called her by that name.

“Ana... it’s me... It’s Arthur...”

And with those words she promptly fainted, the last thing she heard was two voices shouting indistinguishably.

***

When his beard was shaved off and his hair trimmed up he actually looked quite like his Uncle Tristan, Morgana thought, remembering the old pictures that Ygraine had kept in the front hall. But still there was definitely a certain Uther-ness to him as well, which cinched convincing her... At least partially.

The part where he’d been sucked into a board game for twenty years was a work in progress.

At least Mordred seemed to be taking it in stride, excitedly talking with his long lost uncle about where he’d been all this time. Arthur’s repeated mentions of The Kingdom made Morgana more and more agitated, the emotional turmoil this was causing starting to become too much.

“Arthur, while I am _beyond_ happy you’re back... Shouldn’t we dispose of the bloody thing!?” She asked, waving a hand toward the wicked board game. Blinking owlishly at her he turned and looked back toward the wooden thing, lips thinning briefly before he spoke.

“We cannot until it is finished. Someone has to be Crowned. There are more consequences for the players the longer the game sits idle... It was only Merlin and I playing before... But now, Mordred is involved. Though I am happy to have my freedom... Your boy is in danger.” Arthur shifted uncomfortably, his chainmail clinking as he reached up and rubbed at his now beard free chin.

Morgana wanted to scream. Without another word she moved forward and shook her brother a bit, the younger Pendragon squawking at the manhandling. “Shaking me isn’t going to make answers pop out!!”

"It makes me feel better!!" She replied, shrill as her panic grew. She couldn't imagine leaving Mordred to such a fate, the chance of being sucked into a bloody cursed board game hanging over his head! If anything... if anything...

Desperate times called for desperate measures, so Morgana promptly let go of her brother and marched over to the board, grabbing up the dice before taking the knife shaped piece and setting it down on the starting spot. With that done she cast the dice, grimacing as the piece moved per the number she was given. In the board's center swirled lovely, curled script over what appeared to be a sheaf of curled, square parchment. Frowning she read off the words. "Starting out may not be hard when pixies pass on their regards..."

As soon as she read the last word the board sparked with violet sparks, the tinkling of bells heralding several tiny beings as they burst forth from the polished stones that adorned the board's edge. Painfully high pitched laughter assaulted Morgana's ears as the strange things swirled about her, patting her arms and over her hair with their tiny, grabby hands.

Judging by Arthur's expression she wasn't in danger, exactly, but he didn't look terribly pleased with her. "That was unnecessary."

"I'm not going to chance leaving him alone in there." Morgana replied, frowning at him as the pixies fluttered away finally and straight out the nearby window, one of them bonking into the frame before getting through the opening.

"As if I would let anyone else suffer such a fate." He groused, the pair of Pendragons glaring at each other for a moment before their irritation abated, Morgana forcibly not looking shamefaced as Mordred finally piped up.

"So... who's turn is it now?"

Instantly Arthur was grimacing, the woman looking over each of the pieces now on the board. Her knife, Mordred's shield, Arthur's sword... and the axe that sat in the middle of the lot of them.

***

Thanks to Mordred's talent with a computer they found that Merlin Emerson had not actually left town. Morgana had heard rumors before she'd been taken away, older people on the block saying that Mrs. Emerson was going to have her boy committed after how he'd broken down witnessing whatever it was he saw the day that Arthur had gone missing. It appeared, at least, that whatever had happened, Merlin had never actually left the house down the way...

Nearly an hour later the three of them stood awkwardly on the Emerson's porch, Arthur with the board tucked safely under his arm. The three of them looked at each other, unsure of who should ring the doorbell. After a few minutes Mordred finally broke down and did it, jamming on the thing two or three times till they heard irritated shouting from the back and stomping footsteps.

Arthur's heartbeat picked up at the thought of seeing Merlin after all this time, clenching his free hand into a fist to try and tamp down on the ridiculous nerves that ramped up at the thought. When the door swung open, an angry, bearded and bespectacled man on the other side, he felt like turning tail and running right back down the street to his childhood home.

The Dragon hadn't been able to give him any straight answers over the years, so there was no way he could've possibly prepared himself to see Merlin again _like this_.

"Can't you see the sign!? We're _closed_! As in NOT OPEN!" Merlin; for it was Merlin, twenty years older and finally able to grow facial hair, bellowed bad temperedly. "I don't care if you want your chakras realigned or your fortunes read, my days of operation are Monday, Thursday, and Sunday, and no other days!!"

"...it _is_ Thursday." Mordred ventured, tone a little squeaky as he struggled with the fear that came from a strange man yelling at you. Morgana reached out and put a hand on her son's shoulder, shoving Arthur's shoulder with the other in a "get going" gesture.

Coughing awkwardly Arthur took a deep breath and looked Merlin in the eye, the man seeming to finally have noticed just what a strange set of people stood on his doorstep, the strangest by far Arthur in all his armor. "...Merlin, you bone idle _toad_ , it's me. I'm back."

Merlin just gave him a rather horrified look, squinting as he backed up a step, already halfway to closing the door. "I don't know you."

Grunting in irritation Arthur swiftly put his foot in the doorway and then pushed further forward, shoving on the door and getting in Merlin's space. "Merlin Emerson you left me high and dry for TWENTY YEARS, you will _not_ pretend to not know me!" He bit out, the dark haired man scrambling back with a yelp, Arthur continuing to menace him until he was suddenly thrown back onto is ass by an unseen force, Merlin barely getting on his feet and going for a coat rack to have as some sort of makeshift weapon... When he clearly already had _something_ at his disposal.

Wincing loudly the knight pushed himself up, sliding the board closer to him as he sat up proper and glared at Merlin, the man shakily brandishing the coat rack at him. "No, no, no, no, _no_. NO. You are _not_ here! The doctors made sure you weren't here! They told me you were just a figment! That you'd gone and I'd not seen you! That the game was made up to make it... it not so terrifying that you were... were taken away!! You're not _here_ , Arthur!"

Well that was unexpectedly painful to hear, Arthur grimacing as he gathered up as much of that as he could and tried to parse what it meant. So Merlin _had_ been committed...? "Merlin... I'm here. I'm real... The game was- _is_ real. It all happened... And I'm finally back." He stated, getting up and leaving the game where it lay. He walked forward slowly, hands out as though he was trying to calm a particularly skittish animal, Merlin's eyes looking terrifyingly wet behind the lenses of his glasses. "We rode home with the frogs and the game on our bikes... remember? You kept asking me what was wrong? And I didn't want to tell you... Because I didn't want to have to tell you that Father was going to send me to a boarding school after summer was over... So I made you play the game instead of answering? You picked the axe... I picked the sword..."

"No, _please_... I can't do this again. I can't live this again." He whimpered, the coat rack sagging in his grip as Arthur got closer.

"...you rolled a four and I laughed at you for rolling so low... And then there was a bunch of wind? It blew the windows open and you thought it was creepy and I thought it was awesome? And then... and then I rolled a six..." Swallowing hard, Arthur finally reached out and grabbed the coat rack from Merlin, pulling it out of his limp grasp and placing it to the side. "And the game took me away till now. My nephew rolled the right number to let me out..." Looking back toward Mordred he slowly let his defensive stance fall, standing more normally before the other man. "I know you tried, Merlin... I know- I saw that your piece had moved..."

The dark haired man let out a hysterical laugh, raw and terrified as he sagged back against the wall behind him, carding both hands through his hair as Arthur watched him. "Hawks... Massive fucking hawks... They chased me out of your house, shrieking like banshees... I didn't know what to do. I was so fucking scared... You were sucked into a board game, Arthur! A bloody board game!!"

When the man proceeded to sob Arthur couldn't help himself, grabbing Merlin roughly by the shoulders and hauling him into an awkward embrace. A first for them. They'd never hugged when they were young, only friendly arms around the shoulder from time to time. Hysterically Arthur tried to hush the sobbing man, his brow furrowing deeply when suddenly a fire burst to life in the hearth.

***

Once Merlin calmed down he was still quite surly. Whatever life he'd lead after that fateful day had made him rather tetchy and unwelcoming, even if he'd acclimated rather quickly to the idea that Arthur was very much not a hallucination. By some miracle he provided tea, but suddenly grabbed all their cups back up as soon as Arthur set the board down on the kitchen table.

"Oh no, no, no, no- You will NOT get me anywhere near that thing again!"

Arthur rubbed at his eyes, giving Merlin an aggravated look. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

Merlin hesitated, halfway to the sink with the mugs of tea, Mordred looking on balefully as his Mother simply looked irritated. He'd wanted that tea... "What did you notice?"

"Oh, nothing, just that you've somehow developed magic since the last time I saw you." He stated, sounding annoyed. The Dragon had continually warned him there would be side effects as long as the game remained active, he didn't doubt that this was one of them. "Probably not long after I was locked up... or am I wrong?"

The other man made an irritated noise, turning with the cups and glaring at Arthur. " _Yes_ , as a matter of fact! You _are_ wrong. SO wrong!" He set the cups back down, Mordred grabbing for one before he could whisk them away again. "It was two years to the day that these powers showed up and I have known no peace in my life since."

"Join the crowd." Arthur grunted, idly loosening one of his gauntlets as Merlin made a disgruntled noise and glared hotly in response. "Obviously I'm sympathetic, you dolt, don't look at me like that! I spent puberty outrunning blasted Kelpies and Unseelie Court members!"

Finally Merlin’s disgruntled veneer seemed to peel away a bit, a guilty grimace adorning his features just hearing that. Arthur just rubbed at his eyes, trying not to yell at him over how it really wasn’t his fault. He didn’t need to start a real fight with the man. “Just... Look, Merlin... Where I was I learned some things, _valuable things_ , about this stupid game... In order for everything to stop happening we need to get to the finish, as in-“ Arthur held up a hand, stopping the scruffy man who was about to interrupt. “As in, Merlin, you need to come back and play or all of this stays. The magic, the huge birds... and it will only get worse.”

Merlin looked rather like he’d sucked on a lemon and then seen a bear, the terror on his face coupled with the hard pursing of his lips making a funny picture. Morgana cleared her throat awkwardly as the silence dragged a bit, giving the fortune teller an awkward look. “We’re between a rock and a hard place whether we like it or not, Emerson.”

***

The events that came after felt like a blur. Several rolls had unleashed a herd of unicorns, a gaggle of Brownies, and one in particular had turned Mordred into a very bad tempered toad. Morgana’s barely contained panic was palpable, but the worst was yet to come, it seemed... for upon Arthur’s roll he unleashed The Black Knight.

Nearly eight foot and wielding a great claymore the terrifying knight stepped into being, grinning wickedly as he eyed the lot of them, eyes settling on Arthur.

He was barely able to hold his ground beneath such scrutiny, the knight still bearing a horrific likeness to Uther Pendragon.

Leveling his blade at Arthur, The Black Knight smiled a wild sort of smile, a predatory glint in his stare, as though he was a cat poised to devour a bird. “Well, well, well... We meet again, _boy_.”

It’s all he can do not to get skewered in the next moment, grabbing his sword in a panic as Morgana screamed and Merlin shouted in alarm. Arthur isn’t sure what he says to either of them, but the next thing he knows he’s backed out the door with the others thankfully behind him, well on their way down the street, away from Arthur’s greatest fear personified.

The chase doesn’t last like he thought it might, everything going to Hell when the stampede of unicorns made another terrifying appearance, Merlin and Arthur getting split from Morgana by the sudden surge of white beasts. Merlin shouts in alarm once more as The Kingdom is wrenched from his arms by a passing swarm of pixies.

There’s no time to think, The Black Knight temporarily forgotten as they hurriedly try to catch up to the mischievous fae, Arthur cursing loud and colorful as they sprinted along. They end up tramping through the contraceptive aisle at the market, looters noisily rummaging around in all the others with the occasional scuffle over some valuable or another. The town had descended into unexpected chaos the more turns they’d taken, and it wasn’t surprising that people would decide to take advantage.

"I can't believe a bloody flock of fairies ran off with the board!" Merlin growled, listening hard for the sound of tinkling bells or wicked, high pitched laughter over the din. Unexpectedly Arthur was silent beside him, the younger man surprising Merlin by being red faced and pointedly avoiding looking at anything around them. Finally noticing just what was around them Merlin let out an exasperated sound. "Really, Arthur!? You're thirty two! What are you, a virgin?" 

The blonde just hissed and punched him hard in the shoulder. "Obviously, you fucking clod! Who did you think I would get off with in there? The Dragon? Or maybe a blasted gnome!?"

Merlin only gave him a dry look, punching him right back. “We’re not twelve anymore, stop expressing yourself with your fists. Surely there was some fainting damsel for you to rescue and share a moment or two with.” Surely there must’ve been, there was one carved right on the lid with a dragon on the opposite side.

Arthur’s glare really wasn’t encouraging. “Hardly. I was the only human in the game. The place is called a ‘magical realm’ for a reason, i.e. only magical creatures there." He wrinkled his nose a bit, making Merlin raise an eyebrow. "Most of them wanted to off me, anyway. Hardly anything there that you could even consider kissing let alone..." He gestured at the condoms around them. " _That_."

Dragging a hand over his face Merlin couldn't believe that he'd crushed on this man when they were kids. He was completely lame... And somehow irresistible still. "If we live through this I will personally go through a whole box with you." He promised before he could even think about what he was saying, his attention immediately diverted by the wicked, tinkling laughter overhead. "Ah!! There they are!"

Arthur was left gaping like a fish in the family planning aisle, Merlin sprinting after the thieving fae.

***

The Black Knight had evidently grown sick of Arthur's evasions, having caught Morgana while they were split off, practically stringing her up in the park at the center of town. He advertised the fact by sending locals screaming from the park, causing even more of a panic than the stampedes had.

He was ransoming her in return for The Kingdom. It wasn't entirely clear whether he meant to take the game to keep it from harm or to destroy it himself, but Arthur and Merlin had no choice but to bring it to the park, setting it down on the old, round mill stone that the town had left as a sort of heritage piece.

"Finally facing up to your fears." The Black Knight drawled as Arthur stepped back, the blonde grimacing at his tone. It was the mocking one his Father had oft used that made his stomach roil with upset. Spending all these years with that monster on his heels... Enough was enough. If he was going to die he was going to die facing him. There was no honor in a sword in the back.

The Black Knight leveled his claymore at him again one handed, smiling wickedly as he advanced yet again upon Arthur, completely missing the danger that lay to his left: Merlin with a rather large fireball in hand.

The ensuing fight was nerve wracking, but with Merlin on his side it lasted longer than it would've with him alone, but still... it ended just as he always thought it would... at least partly.

Making a gambling move he had rushed the board, taking his turn finally and rolling the die.

The sword pierced his back a second later, Merlin and Morgana screaming in unison as he slumped forward, Arthur choking as he braced himself over the board, blood dripping from the sword tip down onto it as the stones swirled with color, his piece slowly moving along the path.

"It's over." The Black Knight sneered, pulling the claymore from his body with a cringe worthy squelching sound.

Arthur laughed, copper coating his tongue. "Yeah, it is..." He turned his head, grinning through the pain as he looked at the horrified Knight. "I've been Crowned."

“No!” But it was true, the magic of the game surging up around Arthur, the blonde staggering backward and toppling to the ground as The Black Knight screamed, the magic dragging him and everything else The Kingdom had let loose back inexorably into the board. Merlin scrambled over to Arthur amid the din, holding him close as the blonde bled out.

“I’ve got you, Arthur,” Merlin said, sounding less assuring than he was hoping for. “Everything will be fine.”

The cacophony the magic created continued to rise in pitch until Arthur could not tell what was going on, his face pressed into Merlin’s chest as it all became deafening. Then suddenly it stopped, Merlin relaxing by incriments until he pulled back...

Except Merlin was twelve again, peering down at Arthur through his thick lenses.

“Arthur!”

“Merlin!!”

They both seemed lost at the sudden change, Arthur feeling over his body and finding no blood and nary a scratch on him, the blonde sitting up and looking around in disbelief.

They were in his living room, the board set out in the center of the coffee table, just as it had been all those years ago...

Looking to Merlin again he gaped, the youthful face coupled with his confusion mirrored in the other man- boy! He was just a twelve year old boy! -that Arthur laughed out loud. Surging up he tore around the house, finding it as beautiful and well cared for as it had always been. His Mother's study was packed to bursting with books, his Father's tidy and Spartan in stark contrast, their kitchen polished and ridiculously spotless. Everything was there, not a bit out of place.

As he skidded into the foyer the front door opened, Ygraine and Uther Pendragon standing there staring at him questioningly. They were alive. They were here!

Without a word he burst into tears, astonishing them both before the pair rushed forward, gathering him close and asking frantically what was the matter.

***

Ditching the game hadn't been difficult... They tied a large rock from the quarry to The Kingdom and then tossed it into the water that had gathered in the bottom of the abandoned pit. They said that sooner or later it would become a man-made pond, which would make for a suitable place to hide such an awful item.

The walk back with their bikes was quiet, Merlin and Arthur still both feeling a bit too big for their skin.

"Arthur... Do you think we'll just forget all this?" Merlin asked tentatively, voice soft and still so full of experience.

Slowing to a stop Arthur turned to look at him, frowning and scratching at his soft chin, the phantom feel of stubble still plaguing him all these hours later. "...I don't know." Part of him hoped so, part of him felt it would be a tragedy. He feared that somehow the game would fall back into his hands, that somehow this whole awful thing would repeat. But he didn't want to say that for fear of making it come true.

"Well... if we do... I need to do something before I stop... feeling this adult." Merlin stated slowly, slightly stilted as he kicked out the bike's stand, making his way around it to stand close to Arthur. Giving the taller boy a questioning look he had no idea what he was getting at, but after a second or two of waiting he found an answer, Merlin curling his hands over Arthur's on the handle bars before leaning over them and kissing him gently.

***

They never truly forgot, the memories only softening with time. They both healed and grew up into better men than they had been after the world had hurt them, going their separate ways a while but never growing apart.

Shortly after Arthur's twenty second birthday he received a call from Morgana, the blonde settled on the landing of the stairway as he talked to her quietly, Merlin watching him from their bedroom doorway.

When he hung up the blonde turned and gave him a grin, pocketing the phone before pushing up and heading toward his lover. "Well it's happened."

"What has?" Merlin asked, raising an eyebrow as he stepped out of the way, watching Arthur as he walked on, the shorter man pulling his shirt over his head and tossing it to the side. They'd been about to go to bed when Morgana had called and it had interrupted a particularly good snogging session, so Merlin really wasn't in the mood to play a guessing game, nor was his prick.

"Oh, she's pregnant. She's been keeping it under wraps until she found out just what it's going to be..." Turning Arthur gave Merlin a wink. "I suggested Mordred as a name before she even told me it was going to be a boy."

"Did she cuss you out for being a creepy clairvoyant?" Merlin asked, licking his lips as he watched Arthur slide his loungers down and over his arse and thighs, the blasted baker definitely showing off for him, his cock looking particularly good as it was briefly framed by the plaid fabric.

"Naturally." Arthur quipped, letting the fabric fall the rest of the way down his legs before he kicked it off and to the side, stalking toward Merlin and pulling him in by the front of his loose t-shirt, kissing him roughly as he clearly tried to pick up where they'd left off. Merlin was more than happy to oblige, sucking hard on his bottom lip before slowly walking him back toward their bed.

Pushing him down he got a good look at the blonde where he sprawled on the edge of the bed, legs carelessly akimbo as he smirked up at Merlin like the prat he was, confident and wanton at the same time somehow. He was an infernal enigma, one that Merlin wouldn't let keep looking so relaxed, his own needs too keen to let Arthur continue to tease him with his flirting.

Pulling the bottle of lube and condom from his pajama pants pocket he made short work of slicking his fingers. Pressing one inside Arthur as he leaned over him, Merlin kissed him chastely, lighter and gentler than any kiss he'd given him in a long while. In contrast he was doing absolutely wicked things with his fingers, fingering Arthur just that side of safe, pushing him to accommodate two fingers as he kissed his way over the blonde's cheeks and along his jaw.

"You took that call just to make me wait, you're not fooling anyone _Pendragon_..." He drawled close to Arthur's ear, the man in question chuckling for a few seconds before the sound dissolved into a moan as Merlin pressed his fingers up, rubbing against his prostate.

Arthur reached up and snagged Merlin by his hair, pulling a bit at his dark locks as he pushed his hips back into the thrusts of Merlin's digits, asking silently for more. Merlin smiled and rolled his eyes, thrusting his fingers in deeper, letting him have a taste before withdrawing till they were in just to the first joint, teasing at his entrance pointedly. "Spoiled is what you are... I should just take care of myself and let you sort yourself out tonight." He threatened without weight, Arthur tugging again, a needy whine leaving his throat despite how empty a threat it was.

"Merlin don't- _please_... I won't be able to sleep if you leave me like this." He said, tone reedy with desire as he pulled Merlin up to face him, planting lingering kisses on his cheeks as he begged for more. "Please, Merlin, please... I promise I'll satisfy you..."

Merlin couldn't help but break from his harder behavior, melted little by little by Arthur's act. He was cute when he begged... He didn't usually buy into this game as enthusiastically.

"All right, all right. Let's have you, Lazy Daisy." He teased, Arthur groaning in frustration over the callback.

"I use that phrase ONE time and you bloody continue to haunt me with it." Arthur grumbled as Merlin pulled his fingers out, covering his moan with a huff of displeasure.

"Some things you just don't get to live down, darling." Merlin replied sweetly, pulling Arthur closer to the edge of the bed before he took his own cock in hand, sliding the condom over the length of it before stroking over extra lubricant with a moan of appreciation. Shaking off the urge to continue Merlin slid his hand back to the base of his prick, taking a fortifying breath to clear his mind. Lining up wasn't difficult but he couldn't resist the urge to tease Arthur further, grinding against his entrance a few times before finally fitting the head inside him, thrusting in quick before the smaller man had any more reason to complain.

Arthur arched and moaned his name as relief mixed with pleasure, his legs winding around Merlin’s hips and pulling him flush against his backside, grinding on his cock as he gave him a smoldering look. Merlin let him use him a bit, indulging in the heady pleasure of it before planting his hands firmly on either side of Arthur's head, starting up a shallow but hard pace, pulling out just a little bit before slamming back in. 

It made the blonde squirm in such an enticing manner, Arthur begging in a near nonsensical manner between moans Merlin just had to kiss him to keep him quiet, letting the rhythm take them both for a while. Eventually the accountant pushed back up to stand properly, pulling his boyfriend's legs out from around his waist to hike them up, practically folding Arthur in half as he pounded into him, climax so close he could taste it.

Arthur came first with an unintelligible cry, arching his back and grabbing at Merlin's forearms as he tried to ground himself, the way his body tightened around Merlin toppling his resolve instantly. Thrusting into him a few times he pushed deep one last time and came, practically collapsing with the force of it.

The afterglow didn't last long, Arthur huffing in complaint as he tried to rearrange them so his knees weren't so close to his face, jostling Merlin and pushing at him for good measure because he was just that sort of prat. Making annoyed noises at each other till they were sorted out (Merlin disposing of things, Arthur turning down the bed proper) they finally flopped back into bed together, Arthur bullying him into being the little spoon after a few peaceful moments. Once the older man was satisfied Merlin thought he finally might know some quiet, and perhaps some sleep... But no.

"So, Merlin..." Arthur started, voice at least soft so it wasn't ruining the quiet that much. "When are you going to live up to that promise you made me?"

Merlin furrowed his brow, frowning some as he tried to parse what Arthur was even referencing. "What?"

He could feel Arthur's infernal smile pressed against the back of his shoulder as he let things lay for a beat before answering: "Oh, you know, that whole box of condoms?"

The silence stretched as Merlin processed that before he barked out a laugh, smacking Arthur lightly on the hip. "I can't believe you remember that!!"

"Hard to forget when your twenty year crush says something so hot to you right in the middle of a crisis." Arthur shot back, kissing over his shoulder and the nape of his neck, nuzzling at the dark curls. "I'm glad I got the chance to make you mine."

"Well... you could make me your's even _more_." Merlin suggested lazily, curling one of his hands over Arthur's. "I just so happen to have a ring in a box in the dresser with your name on it."

A beat. And then two. Then one more.

"You are not proposing to me at midnight on a Sunday, Merlin."

"I think I am, but I do have to be to sleep soon... so maybe I'll do it all over again at eight in the morning on Monday." He quipped, ducking his head to kiss at Arthur's fingers, earning him a tweaked nose.

"If you don't get down on your knees tomorrow I'm not even considering it. You can't just half-assedly throw this at me when we're both about to pass out!"

Arthur continued to complain at him and Merlin could only smile, turning out the light with a mere snap of his fingers.

So it wasn't just their memories that had lingered after the game had concluded, but if that was all that was to remain, they could live with it.

The call of The Kingdom was far from them now.


End file.
